Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Hi guys. Sorry for the recent radio silence on the blog; I'm traveling. But I wanted to pop in about something that might intrigue those of you with an interest in indie music and how it's made.

Sometime ago, I blogged about a stupendous cover of "Norwegian Wood" and "Kashmir" performed by the Aaron English Band. I've kept track of Aaron English's musical doings since then, and now he and the talented, ukulele-playing, singing, songwriting Victoria Vox have a new side collaboration called Boombox Séance. It's "uketronica": indie-folk and dance-floor electronica. From their own site: "Their sound features a baritone ukulele played through a loop pedal, driving kick drum, keyboards and the acrobatic vocal harmonies" of Victoria and Aaron.AND, they're recording their debut album -- with your participation, if you're interested -- check out their pledge drive at Pledge Music. They're offering some pretty fun stuff to pledgers (a cover song of your choice, an original song, a signed CD plus zucchini bread!, workshopping one of your songs, visiting the Baltimore Museum of Art with Victoria or an afternoon in Seattle with Aaron, a mystery box!, etc. (who doesn't want a mystery box?!)). And updates from the studio -- photos, videos, songs -- for those of us who love to see the birth of music. Check it out, guys.

I'll be home soon, I'll screw my head on straight, and hopefully I'll get back to more regular blogging. Happy almost-December, everyone!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

At 32,000 feet, there are ice crystals on my window and we're flying above snow-covered peaks. Yet the sun through my window is so relentlessly hot and strong that I have to keep the shade down, and when I touch it, it burns me.

I usually take the position of the sun into consideration when choosing my plane seat, but this time, common sense eluded me! I feel like a rotisserie chicken.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The new movie of the musical Les Miserables, coming out this winter, is live sung -- the actors are singing each take live, instead of miming to a recording. This video explains how and why, and I think it's pretty interesting. (H/t, B!)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

I seem unable to stop listening to Led Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore." I think the mandolin has ensorcelled me. Send help.

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The Cambridge Public Library recently changed their lending policies. Instead of a three-week lending period with the possibility of three renewals (12 weeks total), now they've got a four-week lending period with the possibility of two renewals (also 12 weeks total). It's a disaster. I never know when anything is due, I never turn anything in on time, and I never read anything. It turns out that apparently I need more, and more frequent, reminders that my time is nearly up in order to read. Today I'm returning nine library books. I've only read two, all of them are late, and I owe almost $10. So much for my spotless library record. Thank goodness codename: Cordelia doesn't read my blog; otherwise, I'd never hear the end of it.

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You may have heard by now about the proposed merger of Random House and Penguin. I have lots of thoughts and questions about it. The only thing I'm up for blogging today, however, is my disappointment in the name they're choosing for the new company: Penguin Random House. Seriously? When, as David and Margo suggested, they could have called it Random Penguin? Or, as Deborah suggested, Penguin House, or even Random Penguin House? Or, as Aaron suggested, House of the Random Penguin? (My favorite, even though I've had "House of the Rising Sun" in my head ever since he suggested it. Maybe that's why I'm listening to so much Led Zeppelin: to clean out my head. It's not working.)

Quick Links

"Then, at last, sitting on her stretcher-bed, she took from the very bottom of her pack an old peacock-blue scarf folded around a heavy, square book. She unwrapped it and opened it very carefully, as if guilty secrets might fall from between its pages like pressed flowers. This was Harry's secret. She was a writer."

-from The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy

Writing is my secret. Every day I unwrap and open it as carefully as I can. Welcome to my blog about writing and life! Above you'll find quick links about me and my books, and below is more about me, ways to subscribe, and an archive of past posts. Click here to go home to my most recent posts.

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About the Author

Kristin Cashore wrote the New York Times bestsellers Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue, all of which have been named ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Her next book, Jane, Unlimited, comes out in September 2017. Graceling is the winner of the 2009 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and Fire is the winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award. The books are world travelers, currently scheduled to be published in thirty-four languages.

Finally, a note: This blog is my only online presence. I am not on Facebook, Google+, or any other social media sites, and I use Twitter solely as an amalgamation feed for my blog. Sorry, but I do not read @-replies on Twitter!